‘This should be part of Donald Trump’s impeachment trial,’ said a former prosecutor

Former President Donald Trump reportedly pressured the Department of Justice to take his proposal to overturn the 2020 presidential election results to the Supreme Court and considered replacing the current attorney general with an official who would agree to pursue his claims of voter fraud.

The Wall Street Journal reported that Trump’s efforts to thwart President Joe Biden’s victory failed due to his appointees in the Justice Department’s refusal to file a lawsuit to the Supreme Court with baseless claims.

Senior department officials threatened to resign in protest if Trump proceeded to fire Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen — who refused to file a lawsuit — and replace him with lawyer Jeffrey Clark, according to sources. Clark, a Trump ally, reportedly expressed eagerness to use the department’s power to assist the former president.

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“He wanted us, the United States, to sue one or more of the states directly in the Supreme Court,” a former administration official said. They later said that “the pressure got really intense” after the lawsuits from Texas, which were filed in the Supreme Court against four battleground states that Biden won, were dismissed.

President Donald Trump turns to reporters as he exits the White House to walk toward Marine One on its South Lawn. Trump has reportedly talked with associates about the prospect of starting a new political party. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

Clark denied plans to remove Rosen and insisted that his “official communications” with the White House “were consistent with law,” according to The New York Times.

“My practice is to rely on sworn testimony to assess disputed factual claims. There was a candid discussion of options and pros and cons with the president,” Clark said in a statement to the outlet. “It is unfortunate that those who were part of a privileged legal conversation would comment in public about such internal deliberations, while also distorting any discussions.”

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People reacted on Twitter including former federal prosecutor Renato Mariotti, who tweeted, “This should be part of Donald Trump’s impeachment trial. Trump considered ousting the acting Attorney General because he refused to use DOJ to aid his efforts to overturn the election results. Trump’s scheme to overturn the election culminated in the attack on our Capitol.”

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